Breaking Free
by Sexy Blaziken Girl
Summary: Two teens living two different lives. One, a Scrafty raised in Lower Castelia, used to living on the streets, and dreaming of living in Luxury. The other, a Lopunny, raised in Upper Castelia, and so tired to the limited life her father lets her have, she wants to break free and have fun. What happens when these two teens from opposite sides of the tracks meet? Collaboration story
1. Chapter 1

"You stay away from my sisters, you bastards!"

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

After the third shot, the Bisharps finally got the message and booked it down the street, three of them bleeding from the shots in their arms. Frowning, I reloaded the magazine in my Hades 666 Assassin Handgun and quickly slung it in its hold on my belt. Three shots…last week, I had only needed to use one to scare them away. Those motherfuckers were getting cocky, too cocky for their own good. And if they kept this up, I wouldn't have enough bullets to hold 'em off. Sighing, I turned to the two Scrafty girls that were huddled against the wall beside me. Lizza, the younger of the two, was wearing her red tank top with denim shorts, her Mohawk restyled to long, wavy hair, rejecting the symbol of our race. Holding Lizza close was Vanessa, my other sister. Like Lizza, she had on a tank top, a pink one, with a faded denim skirt. And like Lizza, her Mohawk was restyled into long, wavy hair. They were all I had left in this world, all that was still mine. I smiled at the two of them, slowly placing my hands on their shoulders.

"You two okay?" I softly asked, smiling. Vanessa nodded, her head down and buried in Lizza's long red hair. Lizza nodded to me and bowed her head as well.

"We're okay, big brother," she said sadly, looking at the ground. "We're glad you were here to help us, though. We were scared. The Bisharps, they were so close to us…"

"I know, Lizza, I know. And I swear, those bastards are gonna die the next time they try to mess around with the two of you!" Sighing, I pulled her and Vanessa away from the wall, walking down the street with them. "Come on, let's go home."

'Home' as I liked to call it, was a twenty-by-ten apartment room with barely enough room for all three of us, especially now that Lizza got herself a puppy off the streets. Castelia City had better apartment rooms to offer, some suites so large they could fit five families of six, with elbow room to spare! But with little income and gangs out to get you, Lower Castelia's Roach Motels were the best we could afford.

Oh, I realized I never mentioned my name. I'm Leon 'Skulls' Grimm. I hate my name. Leon is just so overused these days. That's why I go by Skulls. I'm seventeen years old, and in case you haven't guessed yet, I'm a Scrafty pokemorph. My mohawk is a little shorter than normal, but other than that, I'm your usual street-fighter Scrafty. I've been living in Castelia City ever since I was born, but it's only been five years since I started living on the streets with my sisters. I won't tell you why I have to live on the streets now, just that it ain't that pretty a picture. Trust me, a life like mine isn't one that you take pride in.

When me and my sisters first hit lower Castelia, we were in trouble. One twelve-year old brother taking care of two ten-year old sisters, all on his own? Talk about impossible. We couldn't find jobs easily, and supporting a family? Not a chance! So, I decided to use my skills as a naturally born Scraggy at the time to my advantage. In other words; I stole from the big gangs. Knowing Thief right off the bat really helped me out when it came to sneaking into the gangs' bases and getting the goods me and my sisters needed to survive. The gangs would try to catch me, but they just didn't understand. You can't catch a Scraggy that's stealing for a cause. For three years, I stole from every grungy, cutthroat gang in Lower Castelia, until I could finally get a job at a Radio Beats Store. I still work there, and afforded to buy a set of headphones and a list of songs to listen to so I could calm down. It's also how I got the materials for Hades 666 Assassin Handgun. That's right, Hades is a one-of-a-kind, hand-made handgun! But, yeah, with the new job, life was starting to look up for us. 'Course, bad habits die hard, and every once and a while, I just have to go out and mess with the gangs again. The risk is even greater now, though, because they know where I live, and they know that I have teenaged sisters. If I step out of line, I have to be ready to protect not only myself, but also the ones I love. But even though the risk is high, the rewards are worth it.

Me and my sisters finally reach the Roach Motel we're staying in for the night. Lizza and Vanessa quickly curl up on the floor and drift off to sleep, but I decide to stay up a bit. I still have to protect the family, and these motels have bad locks. We found that out the hard way when some dumbass drunk waltzed right in while me and the girls were fast asleep. I woke up to find him passed out on the couch, an empty beer bottle in his hand. Needless to say he was thrown out, and I spent my next paycheck on a better lock.

Sighing, I collapsed onto the couch and began flicking through my playlists, eventually coming to Every Storm Runs Outta Rain, sung by a new Country singer. What, got a problem with Country? Then go die in a hole, you faggots! Anyways, I sighed and listened to the song, bobbing my head to the beat. The song's all about how the bad things in life only last for so long before the good comes back. I wished the good things in my life would hurry up and get here. I was tired of living on the streets! I was ready to go live in Upper Castelia, where the business bosses and other rich dudes lived. Still, it was a good song, and I started enjoying it, up until I heard a familiar knock at the door.

"Skulls, ya in there?" the man at the door asked. Swearing, I looked down at Lizza and Vanessa, who were still fast asleep. Slowly I got up and unlocked the door. Standing out in the hall, hand in his pocket, was Djin Tolinzi, my Zoroark friend. Djin was a few inches taller than me, and had the most twisted personality in the world. Sighing, I closed the door behind me and stood in the hall with him.

"Whaddah you want, Djin?" I asked, glaring at him. Djin snickered, pulling a cigarette to his lips.

"Well, I was hoping I could bang one of your sexy sisters, Skulls. They should be ripe for it nowadays," he said, snickering again as he took a long drag on the lit cigarette. Arceus, the dude had the most terrible sense of humor ever!

"You try that, Djin, and I will have your head mounted on my wall in there," I warned, gripping the handle of Hades firmly. Djin kept snickering, shaking his head.

"Relax, Skulls! I would never actually do that to you!"

"Then why are you here, Djin? It better be a good reason!" I warned, raising Hades to his head. Djin nodded, snickering still. Arceus, did he ever not snicker?!

"Well, I do have a reason for coming here, Skulls," the Zoroark said, flicking the smoking cigarette ash onto the hall's carpet. "The other members of Black Infinity are planning a big heist. One of the big Business Bosses is having some big party for his daughter's sweet sixteen. We were thinking that while the rich dudes are partying, we sneak in and steal from the boss's secret vault. Get all the good stuff, then high-tail it outta there! We want you tell help out in it, what with your natural thief skills. Whaddah you say, dude?"

I was quiet, frowning at the ground. Black Infinity was a big gang in Lower Castelia, one that I had messed with many times. Working side by side with the rogues I taunted each day was slightly off-putting, but the chance to earn hundreds was much more influential. Like I said, I deal with risk versus reward, and the rewards were very handsome right now. Grinning, I nodded to Djin. "I'm in."

The Zoroark snickered, patting me on the shoulder. "Glad to hear it, dude. The time is this Saturday at eleven at night. Meet at the old Reshiram Statue." Sighing, he looked down the hall. "Well, it's getting late. See ya on Saturday, Skulls!"

I nodded and turned away, closing the door behind me. Sighing, I laid out on the couch and closed my eyes. With this heist, I may finally get my sisters and me out of this Roach Motel. Then it would only be a matter of time before I was in Upper Castelia.

Smiling, I fell asleep to that sweet, sweet thought.

* * *

Hello everybody, Sexy Blaziken Girl here! Just thought I'd let you know... *gets knocked out by a brick*

"I WROTE THIS! SEXY BLAZIKEN GIRL FORGOT TO PUT IT HERE THAT I WROTE IT!"

Oops, sorry. I put this up, then remembered that I forgot an A/N to explain. ShirosakiEspada0 is writing it with me, as Leon. I'm a yet-to-be-introduced character, who will probably appear in Chapter 3. Read and review!

Sexy Blaziken Girl ;)


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days slipped by faster than I could think. Before I knew it, I was waking up and thinking, "Fuck. It's Saturday."

I know, I was excited for the heist. Heck, any kind of hoodlum activity brought smirk to my face. The problem wasn't my attitude towards the heist; it was my sister's attitudes. Lizza always hated my late-night thefts, and Vanessa was embarrassed by anything related to Scrafty abilities. The last time I had tried to go out for a heist, they had chained me to my bed. They still were confused by how I had gotten out of the chains without unlocking the huge padlock. Anyways, telling them that I was going out for a heist was definitely not a choice.

So, when 10:45 pm rolled by and I was grabbing my 'hoodlum' clothes, Lizza froze, staring at me in concern.

"Um...Leon?" she asked, looking at my black jacket with the skull design on the hood. I smiled at her.

"Oh, don't worry, Lizza. Djin and I are just gonna go hit the town. Don't worry, I'll be back before morning."

Lizza looked at me skeptically, but nodded slightly, allowing me to get changed. I smirked to myself. It was the perfect excuse. Not only was it true, but it was totally plausible, what with the Zoroark practically dragging me from the apartment every few nights for Singles Night at the Kinky Ninetales Strip Club. Plus, Lizza knew that whenever I went out late on the streets, I preferred to wear my skeleton jacket. This was just perfect. Quickly I strapped Hades' holster to my belt and slipped the black steel handgun in place. Smirking, I looked at my reflection. Damn, I look awesome!

I waved goodbye to my sisters and locked, double locked, and triple locked the apartment's door before heading down the street. As I turned the corner and began heading down towards the center of Lower Castelia, and the Ivory Reshiram statue, I pulled my hood over my mohawk. It felt good to get back to work.

"Skulls!" someone shouted to me, making me groan. Quickly I looked up the street and sighed. Sitting on a park bench beneath the behemoth of a Reshiram statue were the twelve members of Black Infinity. Each one was a Dark type Pokemorph; Lucius, the Absol; Saber, the Bisharp; Tyrel, the Umbreon; Hammerz, the Krookodile; Dead-Eyes, the Sableye; SmogBomb, the Skuntank; Bones, the Mandibuzz; Hot-Head, the Houndoom; Wicked, the Weavile; Sly, the Liepard; Freek, the Hydreigon; and, of course, Djin the Zoroark. Djin smirked at me and walked over, taking a long drag on his cigarette.

"I was worried you weren't gonna show, Skulls," Djin said, exhaling softly. "But, you finally did show up-Boys! Pay up!"

I sighed, realizing he had bets going on whether or not I would show. "Yeah, well I'm here now, so let's get down to work." Wicked grinned, walking up to Djin's side.

"Always the first to act, eh, Skulls? Well, good, because this is gonna be the biggest heist we've ever pulled off, and we're gonna seriously need your skills." Smirking, he walked over to the bench, motioning for me to follow. Quickly I followed up behind him and looked over his shoulder at a large map of what looked like one of the twenty-floor tall hotels in Upper Castelia. Wicked spoke up first. "Well, this is the floor plans for the Denovan Plaza. As you know, it's run by the Business Boss Lucian Denovan, the Lucario. Now, the twentieth floor is entirely for the sake of the Denovan family. It has the bedrooms, living rooms, entertainment room, and the dining room. Earlier tonight, at around 8:00 pm, the birthday party was held for the youngest daughter of the Denovans, Lola Denovan. According to my best information, the party was scheduled to go until possibly three in the morning, tomorrow. Because the entire Denovan family is partying tonight, they aren't our main problem. It's Mr. Denovan's unstoppable security guards; 100 well-trained Metagross Pokemorphs, five on each floor. So, we need a way to get past them without being seen. Any ideas?" he asked, looking to the other members. I smirked and nodded.

"Simple. We split into three groups, one of five and two of four. Hot-Head, Lucius, Freek, and Bones will be Team 1. They'll move about the building from the least visible points on the outside of the structure...right here," I said, pointing to the large gap between two security cameras and windows. "Meanwhile, Tyrel, Hammerz, SmogBomb, and Dead-Eyes will make up Team 2 and sneak into the building through the vents. SmogBomb, I need you to drop your sleep grenades in each hall of every floor except the twentieth, knocking out all but five of the Metagross. Dead-Eyes, while SmogBomb's doing that, I need you to hack into the security cameras, shutting them down, one after another, on every floor. The control panel is in the basement, right about...here!" I said, pointing to the very bottom corner of the lowest level. Dead-Eyes grinned, nodding to me. "Once the security is out, Saber, Wicked, Sly, Djin, and myself will make up Team 3 and take the elevator to the twentieth floor. We'll knock out the last five Metagross guards and get to the vault. At this point, Saber, I'm gonna need you to crack the code for me. You are used to figuring out the tumblers, right?" He nodded to me. "Good. Once it's open, I'm gonna need some major distractions while we all steal the loot. Think you can handle that, Djin?"

"Heck yeah I can!" the Zoroark shouted, snickering. I nodded.

"Good. Now, once we get the goods, we need a quick getaway, which is where Team 1 comes in. Once you guys have scaled the building, I'm gonna need you guys to attach your grappling hook ends to the wall right outside the vault. Then, shoot them down onto the lamposts on the other side of the street. Once secured, Teams 2 and 3 will zipline down to the ground below, and on to freedom."

"Not bad, Skulls," Wicked said, clapping me on the shoulder. "This could work."

* * *

"We should have known this wouldn't work," Wicked said, thirty minutes later. I sighed.

The plan had gone very well. Team 1 had set up the grappling hook getaways, taking extra time to set the cords slightly loose, so the trip down wasn't too fast, Team 2 had knocked out the Metagross guards and taking out the security cameras, albeit a slight bit longer than usual, what with the several different codes, and Team 3 had taken out the last five guards and cracked the safe. Everything had gone well...until Sly stepped right on the bright red laser trip wire. Instantly the entire building was filled with alarms, waking up the Metagross on the levels below us and resetting the security cameras. Not one to give up, I grabbed about 10,000 pokebucks and passed it to Djin, telling him to get it to my sisters. He nodded and quickly escaped down the zipline, landing on the ground and booking it to Lower Castelia. Before long, the rest of the team was down on the ground, except for me and Wicked. Just before he was going to slip down, the Metagross guards grabbed us and started hauling us into the dining room.

"Don't worry, Wicked." I said, smirking. "I still have plan B." Without another word, I placed my right hand on Hades, while still having my arms pinned against my back. Slowly, I inched my finger around the trigger, and let loose one of the Hell-Fire Blasts. Instantly the Metagross were blown back, shrapnel flying all around us. Grinning, Wicked ran to the zipline and began sliding down.

"Wait, what about you, Skulls?" he asked, stopping.

"Don't worry dude, just get going!" I said, kicking him in the back, sending him flying down the zipline. Smirking, I looked at the Metagross behind me and whipped Hades out. Instantly the huge blue pokemorphs stopped, backing away slightly. I smirked again and shot off another Hell-Fire Blast. Screaming in fear, the five guards ducked, grappling wildly for their rifles. Before they could even raise them, though, I was booking it down the hall, already getting past their line of view. Quickly I slipped through an unlocked door and quietly closed it behind me. I counted the number of footfalls that passed. 2...4...6...8...10...sighing, I slid against the wall to the floor. Leon "Skulls" Grimm, luckiest thief in the world. I smiled to myself for a moment, then looked around the room I was in.

It was a large room, poorly lit. There was a large bed on the far side, most likely queen. On the walls were pictures of current pop stars and actors, including a full-sized cut-out of Garret Rolland, the new Gallade pop singer. Ugh, the guy was the bane of my existence. And that's when it clicked for me. Pop stars, actors, a full-sized cut-out of the next 'hottest singer ever' (gag)...and pink wallpaper. I groaned.

"Oh no..." I said, just as the lights turned on. Whirling, I looked to the bed, and saw a young, blonde-haired Lopunny looking right at me.

* * *

This chapter introduces my character: Lola! Next chapter will be in Lola's, aka my perspective. Read and review, please!

Sexy Blaziken Girl ;)


	3. Chapter 3

"What are you doing in my room?" The boy winced, looking around in horror. He appeared to be a Scrafty, judging by the Mohawk and the fact that he was in my room. I jumped up, glad I had chosen modest pyjamas that covered me entirely, and tossed back my blonde hair.

"I'm warning you, get out. I know quite a few fighting moves that I'm sure you wouldn't like." The Scrafty held up his hands, which raised his jacket a little, allowing me to see his gun.

"I don't want to hurt you, but if I have to, I'm sure I won't be the one coming out injured or dead. Plus, I'm a fighting type too, so you're in just as much danger as I am from fighting moves." Oh, dammit, he was right. Scraftys were fighting and dark type.

"Okay, change of plans. You probably need a way out of here. I can show you, in exchange for a vow that I will not be harmed by you. Deal?" The Scrafty bit his lip and ran a hand through his Mohawk.

"Fine then, Ms Denovan. Wait, which one are you? Lola, Gretel or Dana?"

"Lola. Now, can we get a move on? I don't exactly appreciate a dark type hanging around in my room." The Scrafty nodded and waited for me to lead the way. I stepped out, still in my nightgown, and beckoned him to follow me. Without waiting to see if he did, I walked down the corridor, my feet making barely any noise against the marble tiles. By comparison, the Scrafty boy might as well have been a whole troupe of circus animals, his heavy boots clanking against the tiles. After a few corridors, I whirled around with a sigh.

"Take the boots off. They're too loud. We're lucky that the Metagross guards haven't found us already, and I'm pretty sure if they did, you'd be locked up and I'd be grounded permanently." The boy hesitated, but soon took them off, putting them in the backpack he was carrying. I eyed it suspiciously, frowning.

"That better not have my underwear in it. If it does, hand it over." The Scrafty laughed, shaking his head and opening the bag so I could see the contents. All it had were the recently-added boots, a bundle of Pokebucks and a picture of two younger Scrafty girls.

"One of these your girlfriend?" The Scrafty flipped me the bird and closed his backpack again.

"They're my sisters." I nodded and kept walking.

"My sisters drive me crazy. They're always being a bitch to me and beating me up."

"That's nice. Now, can we get the fuck out of here?" I frowned at the Scrafty.

"Hmm...you weren't so agitated before I found that photo." The Scrafty boy growled and kept walking.

"That's the wrong way."

"I don't care. I can get out of here myself, you bitch." I ran forward, trying to stop him, but...

"Yowch!" I swore and launched myself through the air, landing beside him. The Scrafty boy was rubbing his neck, where a small puncture wound was.

"You idiot! There's traps set up everywhere in this building! The one you just activated was..." I looked over at the wall, where a small sign was placed over a camera.

"The camera identifies you, allowing it to decide whether you are a resident, a servant, or an intruder. Since you're not in the database, you're an intruder, which means it fired...a dart, coated in a sleeping draught. You'll be knocked out in five minutes, and in three minutes, the guards will be here." The Scrafty cursed, blinking heavily. I swore and ran over, putting my arms under his midsection.

"Whaddya doing..." I braced myself and lifted, scooping him off his feet with a curse. The boy muttered something about him being able to walk himself.

"Bullshit. In one and a half minutes, your legs will stop working. In three, you won't be able to move, and at four, your speech will slowly become so slurred that you'll barely be able to say your own name." The boy sighed and closed his eyes.

"Fine, but get me out of here quickly. I don't want to be seen being carried like a pussy by a girl." I laughed and started running, surprised at how light the boy was. Despite his tough appearance, he was quite skinny, bordering on malnourished, and he was actually a little shorter than me.

"You know, if you go any slower, we might as well just stop and wait for the Metagross guards with a little blinking sign that says, 'hey, look at me, a dark type thief' pointing at my head."

"Just shut up and try not to fall off. Your arms are probably going a little numb." The boy tried to give me the bird, but his arms fell the moment he tried to lift them.

"See what I mean? This stuff is powerful. A few more drops, and you'd be dead to the world in a second. A few more drops, and you'd be dead, full stop." The boy gulped a little, glancing up at me.

"How long?"

"One minute. You should probably just give up now." The boy laughed darkly, closing his eyes.

"Oh, if I had a buck for the people who've told me that, I'd be a rich man..." His voice dropped away suddenly, prompting me to shake him. With a jolt, his eyes opened, staring into mine.

"Skulls Grimm."

"What?"

"You said...I could barely...say my own name...Skulls Grimm. That's...my name..." He gave a laugh before actually passing out this time, going limp in my arms - and getting heavier. I swore and readjusted my grip so I didn't drop him.

Skulls Grimm. A strange name - of course, for an even stranger boy.

I took a few breaths and kept running.

Somehow, the guards didn't catch up with me, even after a ten minute breathless run down the many corridors to the one window I knew wouldn't be guarded. There was no security camera either, thanks to a faulty battery that I may or may not have placed in the camera after 'accidentally' knocking it to the side. I had paid one of the guards, a young one, to ensure that the window was left open slightly each night. It was my escape, for when I wanted to go to parties or climb onto the roof, and tonight, so I could get Skulls to safety. Making sure he wouldn't fall, I slung myself out the window onto the small platform below it, where a rope was coiled up. I tied it to a small metal spike that jutted out of the side of the window and sent it spiralling down to the ground, watching until it hovered just above the dark ground below. It was the finest quality rope, spun by Spinaraks and tested to make sure it could lift twenty Rhyhorns. It was guaranteed not to break, which meant it was perfect for whenever I needed to get out. A break in the rope would send me plummeting to death or to a broken leg, alert the guards, and make sure I never got any freedom again.

I wrapped my feet around the rope and started sliding, praying that Skulls didn't fall as I inched closer to the ground. Thankfully, he stayed in my arms until my feet touched the ground. I let go of the rope and placed him gently down, looking around. I quickly spotted my tree and ran over, digging a little into the ground. My hands hit something hard, a chest. I pulled it out and ran back to Skulls, setting it down next to him.

"Come on, come on, where is it?" I rummaged through, looking for a small blue bottle. After almost completely emptying the chest, I found it, letting out a small triumphant laugh. I turned to Skulls and sprayed the potion onto his face, making sure some dribbled into the cut. As he slowly woke, I put the chest back, returning just in time to see him sit up, blinking.

"What...happened?"

"You fell asleep. I had to slide down a rope with your dead weight in my arms. You're lucky I didn't drop you, or that the Metagross guards didn't catch up." He stood up, swayed and sat down again, cursing fluently. I blushed at his language, which made him laugh.

"What, can't stand cussing? Fucking hell, I wish the guards had just found me, instead of having to be carried out here like a fucking weakling by a bitch like you." Okay, that was it. I raised my hand and slapped Skulls across the face, making my palm tingle. His head snapped to the side with a loud smack.

"What the fuck was that for?" My anger rose to a boiling point, flooding out of me like steam out of a kettle.

"For being a fucking idiot. You ran straight into a trap, had to be carried out, and what do I get? Cursing and death wishes. I would at least expect a thank you for getting you the fuck out of there, but no, I just get called names. Thanks. Thanks a whole fucking lot, Skulls Grimm." Skulls rubbed his rapidly reddening cheek, the other one colouring a little.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have been such a dick."

"Damn right you shouldn't have been." He laughed, a wistful sound with an edge of darkness.

"You're right. You know what, I'm going to leave now, but first..." Skulls got up, rummaging in his jeans pocket. He pulled out a card, with a skull and crossbones design on it.

"Take this in case you want to meet up with me. After all, I owe you one." I accepted it, puzzled. Skulls turned, but looked back, a small grin making his mouth twitch up.

"See ya round, bunny." With that, he sprinted off into the darkness, leaving me very confused. I looked down at the card. It had his name and address: a crappy motel in Lower Castelia.

Poor kid, having to grow up in a place like that. What were his parents thinking?

It took me ten minutes to climb back up to the house, and a further five minutes to go back into my room. No sooner had I climbed under my covers than my father came in, snarling.

"Where were you? We just had a massive break in, thousands of dollars were stolen, and Gretel says you were nowhere to be found." I sighed, rubbing my forehead as my father's aura overwhelmed me, as it always did.

"I was right here, Father, sleeping off a headache. Now, can you leave so I can go back to sleep? I do have school tomorrow, after all, in case you'd forgotten that I'm seventeen." Father sighed, rubbing his forehead, where his aura sensors were.

"Fine, but next time you decide to disappear, leave a note, or a tracking device, okay?" I nodded, sliding back under the covers. The light turned off, and footsteps echoed down the corridor. I smiled and poked my head out again, grabbing my phone. A text message had popped up, from my friend Lavender, a Gardevoir Pokemorph.

'U still up for party 2moro nite?' I grinned and quickly typed back an answer.

'C U there, cant wait. Make sure some1 brings the stuf.'

With a smile, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

By three in the morning, I finally made it to the Roach Motel. I was busy rubbing the back of my neck furiously, trying to get over the weird sensation left over by the trap. Damn it! Why'd I have to go and get myself trapped? What was worse was that I needed that Denovan-girl's help to get out of there. I swore to myself over the thought of her helping me out. I could have gotten out no problem, even if I was falling asleep. I didn't need that girl's help…even though I did think she was cute, for a rich snob.

Sighing, I reached the apartment's door and raised my hand to knock. Before I could, though, Lizza swung the door open and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Oh, Leon! I was so worried! We were so worried!" Vanessa nodded, coming closer and hugging me as well. "Never do anything like that ever again, do you hear me?! You could have gotten yourself killed, and then where would we be?" I sighed and pulled them into the hug.

"I'm not going anywhere, you guys. And I'm not getting killed, either."

"Yeah, you're too stubborn to do that, Skulls," Djin said, coming out of the shadows. I glared at him, but he raised his hands in defense, snickering. "Hey dude, slow down, okay? I'm not here to do anything perverted to your sisters. I came and dropped off the stuff like you asked, and then I decided to wait for you out in the hall. When one o'clock rolled on by, I decided to keep your sisters company so they wouldn't get scared."

I softened, smiling. Lizza nodded, smiling brightly. "Yeah, Leon! Jasper was really nice, making sure that we were happy and feeling fine here." I nodded to her, snickering at Djin's real name. The Zoroark blushed darkly, glaring at me.

"S-stop it! My name isn't funny!" I just kept laughing.

"Whatever you say, _Jasper_." Djin growled.

"Oh yeah? What would you think if I called you Leon for a change, dude?" I merely shrugged and sat down on the sofa.

"Doesn't work with me, Djin. My sisters already call me Leon all the time." The Zoroark hung his head in defeat, knowing he lost.

"Damn it…" he weakly said, sighing. Shaking his head, he snickered again and picked up his backpack and mock-saluted to me. "Well, I gotta run, dude! See you later!"

I nodded and watched him run down the hall to his apartment. I smirked, then turned to the two emotionally broken Scrafty glaring at me from inside the apartment room. Groaning, I pulled my hood down over my Mohawk and sat down, ready to get some sleep. No doubt they would try to chain me to the sofa again, but I didn't care. I just wanted sleep. Sadly, as sleep began to over take me, I couldn't help but think about the awkward moments of the night.

* * *

"Ah, Skulls, I heard you had quite the run last night."

I nodded, smiling to Mr. Chester, my boss. The Stoutland pokemorph had known about my hoodlum antics for two years now, often helping me out with the work by paying for new Spec. Ops.-style bullets for Hades 666 Assassin, or by giving me stats on the buildings and bases that I was going to be sneaking into. I smiled to Mr. Chester and finished loading up the next stock of CDs onto a rack.

"Yeah, me and the Black Infinity gang snuck into the Denovan Plaza and stole probably around 100,000 Pokebucks." The Stoutland raised his huge white eyebrows, smirking.

"Really? That's quite a heist. I'm very surprised to hear that you decided to work with Black Infinity. Weren't they the ones that you were always picking fights with, as well as picking pockets with?"

I smirked at the old man's word play, and nodded. "Yeah, I usually get into brawls with those guys. But, apparently this was a very big heist for them, one that they really wanted to go well. I mean, it was rough getting up there, but seeing the 10,000 pokebucks lying on my couch back at home, waiting to be used to help out my sisters, heh, that really made it all worth it."

Mr. Chester stroked his beard in thought. "Sounds like you liked the work. Though, it must have been hard dealing with Denovan's security. I hear they have that place crawling with Metagross guards." I nodded, sliding some Darius Rucker CD's onto a shelf.

"Yeah, they were a real pain in the ass. But, once we found out a way to get past them, they were barely any threat. You know Smog-Bomb, right? Well, we had him drop Sleep Bombs into the halls from the vents. All the guards had to do was take a deep breath, and they'd be out like a light. After that, it was simply taking out the security cameras and getting into the vault. The one time we failed, though, was once Sly tripped the alarms, sending the Metagross guards all from their deep sleep and out after us. And to make it worse, the security cameras came on, and apparently they can analyze the people in the pictures to see if they match the people in the building. If they don't, they get hit by a trap. I accidentally got hit by a sleep dart, so I had like five minutes before I fell asleep to get the hell out of there. What was worse was that I had to sneak into another room, wait for the Metagross to pass, and sneak out." Okay, so that was a bit of a lie. Sue me! Like I was really gonna tell him I needed help from Lola Denovan, a little Lopunny girl.

Mr. Chester simply smiled and nodded. "Sounds rough. It's a good thing you made it out okay, though. And with that money you got, you should be able to live in a better apartment."

I shrugged. "Yeah, but not for a while. I still need to find some good ones, pay for more food, get more ammo for Hades, and get a new playlist for my iPod. I've got to think priorities, Mr. Chester."

"Then I hope partying is high on that list, Skulls, 'cause that's what we're doin' tonight!" I spun around and looked to the direction of the voice. Standing in the doorway of Radio Beats was Wicked, Djin and Sly, each smirking coolly at me. I frowned and faced all three of them.

"What do you mean by that, Djin?" I asked sharply. The Zoroark snickered and lit another cigarette.

"What I mean is that we need to celebrate a job well done, Skulls," he said after taking a long drag. Wicked nodded beside him.

"Plus, we want to thank you, Skulls. Without your help, we wouldn't have gotten the money so quickly. Sure, Sly here tripped the alarms, but other than that it went over well."

"So?" I asked, feeling extremely agitated with these guys. Wicked shook his head.

"So, idiot, tonight we're gonna take you out to the town, check out an Upper Castelia club, and hold a welcoming party for you as the newest member of Black Infinity."

I was silent for a good minute as his last words entered my head. Finally, after a minute of thinking, I looked to Djin. "Is this true, what they're saying? I'm a bona fide member of Black Infinity?" The Zoroark snickered again, nodding enthusiastically.

"Yeah, dude! You did such a good job for us that Wicked's decided to make you a member. I'd agree to it if I were you. We go on bigger heists, have better equipment, and every one of our families are protected by the gang. Whaddah you say, pal?" Smirking, he held out his hand. I smirked at him and clasped the gloved hand firmly.

"Dude," I said, smirking, "You had me when you mentioned protecting my family." The Zoroark's eyes lit up and he grinned widely.

"So does that mean that you're gonna come, pal?" I nodded.

"Of course, we gotta celebrate dude!" Djin snickered and high-fived me, turning to leave.

"Well, see you at the Reshiram statue again, this time around 8:45 pm." I nodded and watched as the three turned and walked out the doors. Slowly I turned to Mr. Chester, who had seen the whole exchange. He was leaning on his old broom, smiling happily.

"Looks like things may be looking up for you from now on, eh, Skulls?" the old man asked happily. I nodded, quickly getting back to setting the 'Imagine Dragonites' albums on the wall. It certainly felt like things were getting better for me, Lizza, and Vanessa.

Little did we know just how great our lives were gonna get.


	5. Chapter 5

I met up with Lavender at the door to the club, after sneaking out my window and climbing down the rope, like usual. I somehow managed not to ruin my clubbing clothes, which made me look even more like a Lopunny, a sleeveless, midriff baring cream top and tight-clinging brown pants.

"Nice look, Denovan." For some reason, Lavender always addressed me by my last name. She was dressed as if she was a Gardevoir, except the dress was shorter. In place of a horn, she had a ruby pendant that did the same thing as a Gardevoir's horn.

"Thanks, Lavender. You too. Ready to hit the club?" She nodded, looking graceful as always. I guessed that came with being a pokemorph of such a graceful Pokémon. I walked up to the door, but Lavender paused, her hand on her pendant.

"Wait, Denovan. Something's up. You're not telling me something." I sighed. As well as looking like a Gardevoir - which would be achievable with some cheap hair dye, pale skin and contacts - Lavender also had limited psychic abilities, such as being able to tell emotions and finish my sentences, which could get annoying.

"Well...I had a strange night last night. I'll tell you later. Let's just party tonight, okay?" Lavender nodded and smiled slightly, tilting her head towards the door.

"You're right, of course. Lola Denovan's always right, after all." I grinned and stepped forward to the bulky bouncer. He was a Machoke pokemorph - all of the guards at the Black Bolt were. It was one of two of the top clubs in Upper Castelia, the other being White Blaze on the other side of town. They were always competing but never beating each other, perpetually in a tie, just like the legendaries that inspired their names. It did mean that they were leaps and bounds above all the other clubs, although Ruby Tunes was pretty good when compared to others. Sometimes, they even got a Meloetta pokemorph to perform, since a Meloetta inspired the name.

"I.D., please." The Machoke's voice was a low growl, and as he spoke, fangs showed. I slid my I.D. out of my pocket and flashed it at the guard, as did Lavender. The pokemorph's eyebrows raised, and he opened the door with a respectable bow of the head.

"Hello, Ms Denovan and Ms Clemonte, and happy birthday." Lavender's birthday was tomorrow, being born only two days before me. We always had a joint party as children, but since last night's party that Father threw was so awful, Lavender had organized an actual party at the Black Bolt with all of my friends.

"Oi, Lola, over here!" As we walked in, Val's familiar voice greeted me, ringing through the crowd. He was a Loudred pokemorph, with a cheerful attitude and a shouting voice like to burst your eardrums. I spotted him quickly, seeing the blue and red headphones he always wore, and walked over, the club music thudding in my ears.

"Took you long enough, Lola. I've been waiting for two minutes!" I laughed and mock punched his arm, looking around as I did. All of my friends were here - Caitlin the Pidgeotto who could never stay still, Hannah the Ponyta with hair like fire spilling down her back, Nina the Jolteon who had a bad habit of shocking everyone she shook hands with, Sapphire the Altaria with her fluffy white shawl resting over her shoulders, Jacob the Mothim who often screamed at the sight of fire, and Gabrielle the Gothitelle, who was Gardevoir's closest friend in the group, apart from me. There were no dark types in the group - no, it's not stereotyping, the dark types usually hung out in their own groups, like the Black Infinity gang.

"Happy birthday, Lola!" I grinned at Hannah as she started singing. Everyone joined in, even Val, who was tone deaf. I smiled at all of them and waited patiently for the song to finish.

"Thank you so much. This is going to be so much better than my father's party last night." Caitlin grinned, flapping her wings. Yes, she had wings - all Pidgeotto pokemorphs did.

"That's good. That party was so boring. Hey, do you want your presents?" I grinned, nodding. Everyone pulled a package out from behind their back, except for Gabrielle, who levitated hers out. Her psychic powers were telekinesis and psychic weaponry, although the worst she could do was a bad headache.

"Open mine first, please Lola, please!" I giggled at Nina's eagerness and took her present, much to her delight. It was wrapped in bright yellow paper.

"Open it, open it, open it!" Nina was jumping up and down by this point in glee. I tore off the paper and opened the box. Inside, a thunderbolt pendant gleamed at me.

"Thank you, Nina. It's beautiful."

"Try it on, try it on!" I grinned and picked it up, only to drop it back into the box. Nina laughed as my nerves tingled from the electric shock.

"Gotcha! Now, seriously, put it on." I picked it up gingerly and hooked it around my neck.

"Thanks, Nina." The electric type giggled and stepped back. Val was the next to step up, giving me a dubstep CD. I accepted it, knowing I'd probably only listen to it when he came to my house. Everyone gave me their presents, and after fifteen minutes I had the pendant from Nina, the music (if you could call it that) from Val, a golden arm bracelet and matching anklet from Caitlin, a manicure kit from Jacob (he always bought something like that - he was strangely in touch with his feminine side), tickets for snorkelling lessons from Sapphire, a pocket knife from Hannah (she was very protective of me and didn't want me getting hurt) and a small potted Gracidea from Gabrielle. Finally, it was Lavender's turn to give me a gift.

"Here, this is for you." Lavender placed something in my hand. I looked at it closer. It was a pendant like hers, but in the shape of a heart.

"It's beautiful." Lavender smiled, touching her own pendant.

"It's a heart stone. It will tell you when someone loves you by glowing softly. Put it on." I did, and was startled as a warm red glow started to seep out of the stone. I blushed and looked around at everyone.

"Thanks, everyone. Now, it's time for Lavender's presents!" I gave Lavender my present to her, tickets to see the Garret Roland concert next month. She smiled and hugged me, the glow of the heart stone trapped between us.

"I'm taking you to see this with me. You deserve it, sweetie, after your father being such a bastard to you lately." I grinned and stepped back, allowing everyone else to give Lavender her birthday presents. Once that was done, Val grinned and tilted his head to the ceiling.

"_We're gonna party till dawn!"_ I laughed and grabbed Lavender's hand, dragging her out to the dance floor, just as Garret's new song came on. We laughed and started dancing, watching as all of our friends joined us.

A lot more dancing and a few Essence of Electricity drinks later (they were the signature drink of the Blaze Bolt, a drink that sent tingles through you and made you more energetic), I sat down at the bar, laughing. The drinks had gone to my head more than I realised, making me giddy and happy.

"One beer, please." Someone slid into the seat next to me, wearing a leather jacket. I looked him up and down, appreciating the view.

"Hey there. What's your name?" The person froze and turned. I gasped a little as he revealed his face and bright red Mohawk.

"Skulls? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question!"

"I'm having a party for my birthday. Why are you here?"

"I joined Black Infinity, and we're celebrating." I frowned, rubbing my temple. I was getting a little bit of a headache.

"Black Infinity? The gang? Why would you join them?"

"Because they're gonna..." A Zoroark pokemorph popped up behind Skulls, grinning at him. He looked over at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Who's the sexy bunny?" I growled at the Zoroark, while Skulls flipped him the finger.

"Lola fucking Denovan." The Zoroark stumbled back, gaping. Skulls grinned and turned back to me.

"You'll have to forgive Jasper. He's a little...well, he's never been the same after his mother threw him at a wall." The Zoroark hit him over the head and stepped forward, offering me his hand.

"My name's not Jasper. Call me Djin. Now, how exactly does a thief and member of Black Infinity know an upper-class smoking hot babe like you?" I raised an eyebrow and slapped Djin, making him reel back.

"Never refer to me as a smoking hot babe again, understand? Lola will suffice. I met him in the mansion, after I woke to find him standing by my bed." Skulls blushed while Djin laughed, hitting his fist against the bar.

"That's classic. Skulls, when you're trying to get a girl, stalking will not help!" He turned his gaze towards me, looking me over with appraising eyes. "Although, it has seemed to work."

That was it. I slapped him again, sending him onto the floor. As he fell, the song changed, into one of my favourites, a punk rock song by a band of pseudo-legendary pokemorphs, two Garchomps, one Tyranitar and a Hydreigon.

"I love this song!" To my surprise, Skulls said the same thing at the same time. I jumped, blinking. Skulls regained his cool first, offering me his hand.

"Care to dance, bunny?" I giggled at the name, so different from when Djin said it with a glint in his eye, and took his hand.

"Okay, lizard." Skulls raised an eyebrow and led me to the dance floor.

The song started slow, and thus so did the dancing. Skulls span me around as the drums began pounding, signalling the speeding up of the music. As it got faster, we danced in more complex ways. To my surprise, Skulls was quite a dancer, moving elegantly and twirling me around.

"You're very talented on your feet." I grinned breathlessly and fell back into his arms, kicking into the air. The other dancers had formed a circle around us, watching as Skulls and I danced. I spotted a large cluster of dark types, one of them grinning with amusement, but before I could identify them, I was spun back into Skull's arms and pressed close to him as the song ended.

"Wow...you're a really good dancer."

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, thief boy." Skulls grinned, a droplet of sweat running down the side of his face. I then realised we'd been standing there for a few minutes, in each other's arms. I blushed, which must have made Skulls figure it out too, because he backed off, biting his lip.

"Well...I'll m-maybe see you around." He started to walk off, but paused, turning around and grinning wickedly at me.

"See you, bunny." And with a wink, he walked away. I blushed and stumbled off the dance floor, something in the corner of my eye. I looked down and saw the heart stone glowing softly.

Soon after that, I decided that Father would soon get suspicious and send out one of his Sawk groups to find me and bring me home - dammit, it was annoying. I went up to Lavender, who was with Gabrielle, to tell her I was heading off.

"Oh, so soon? Damn, I was hoping for a few more hours. Oh well. Hey, before I forget..." Lavender rummaged around in her pale purple clutch and pulled out a bottle of pills, with a cream label.

"Oh, I almost forgot about those! Thanks!" I tucked the bottle into my pocket while Lavender smiled serenely.

"The producer just cooked up a new batch, so they're fresh. They expire in three months."

"Thanks. It's always fun taking them." Now, I know what you're thinking. What exactly are these pills? Well, let me tell you a story...

Back when I was a Buneary, and Lavender a Kirlia, we met a nerdy Ivysaur named Gregory. He'd been working on a pill to transform a pokemorph into a Pokémon, and vice versa. We'd agreed to try the first batch - after he perfected it on Pokémon, of course - and were so pleased by the result that we decided that we'd continue buying them. Besides turning you into a Pokémon, the pills heightened your senses, released dopamine into your system and made you more agile. I often used them to sneak out, merely bouncing past security.

"See ya round, Denovan." I grinned at Val, who clearly had drunk one too many Essence of Electricity drinks, and waved goodbye, walking out the door.

I walked down the streets, smiling happily as I skipped along. The night seemed peaceful, but emptier than usual.

"Okay, hands up, Denovan."

That was probably why.

I spun around and came face to face with a Bisharp, pointing his blade at my throat. Another, a Weavile, came forward, a mocking smile displaying fangs.

"Hello, Denovan. You're going to come with us for a little while."

"Oh, fuck."


	6. Chapter 6

I smirked over at Lola as I watched her leave the Black Bolt club. I had to admit, it was fun dancing with her earlier, spinning, dipping, and just jamming out to the music. She was an awesome dancer too, which was good. I never can actually dance if my partner can't tell her right foot from her left. Actually, now that I think about it, I've never actually danced with anyone before. Well, in my defense, Lola was very different from any other girl I met in Lower Castelia. Not that I thought she was hot or anything, though. Heck, we weren't even friends really! Sighing, I shook my head, trying to get the thoughts out of my head and turned back to the rest of the gang. Instantly Sly and Djin had rung their arms around my neck, pulling me into the group.

"Well well well, Skulls. Who knew you were such a stud when it came to getting girls!" Sly said enthusiastically, Djin snickering beside him.

"Oh yeah! Dude, you gotta tell me how you did it! I want a piece of Upper Castelia for myself, if you know what I mean." I only glared at him and reached down to Hades.

"Shut up Djin. Besides, Lola does really like me, got it?" The Zoroark just shook his head, snickering away.

"Whatevs, bro. Deny it all you want, but that girl's got her eyes on you. I can tell, I'm a specialist in reading people. And trust me, she wants you!" I glared at him and flipped him off, walking up to the bar.

"Just shut up. Hey, can I get another beer here?" I asked the bartender. The Luxray nodded, quickly pouring me a glass and sliding it down to me. "Thanks," I murmured before taking a long cold drink. Sly and Djin sighed and sat down beside me, pulling some Essence of Electricity drinks from the bartender's hands.

"Geeze dude, it was just a joke, okay? No need to get defensive." I shook my head.

"No, you guys are right. She does like me. I noticed it too. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I fell for her too. Hard." Sly and Djin grinned happily, but I cut them off with the wave of my hand. "But it doesn't matter. She lives up here in Upper Castelia, is guarded by some of the best trained martial artists in the world, and has a highly defensive father, who I might add is the second strongest Fighting-type in the world right now. And I'm," I stopped and sighed, burying my head in my arms, "I'm a stupid thief who lives in Lower Castelia. I have to risk my life every day so that my sisters can stay alive and stay safe. I will never really be successful. I'm just a loser. And girls never go for losers." I groaned into my arms. Djin sighed at me and patted me on the back.

"Skulls you know that isn't true. You're the most epic guy I know. Heck, you could probably give Wicked a run for his money if you wanted to. Lola would be head over heels for you if she found out who you really were. So, cheer up." Smiling, he knocked my glass off the bar. "And no more drinks, either. They make you way too pessimistic."

I grinned sadly at my friend and nodded. "You're gonna clean that up, though, got it?" He snickered and nodded, quickly picking the glass up. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. It was nice here, actually. I mean, I had real friends, people who cared about me, and a good life. Things were looking good right now.

"THE BLADZ GANG IS HERE TO PARTAY!"

And then things got worse. Swearing, I spun around in my chair and looked back to the entrance. Sure enough, there they were; all fifteen of them. The Bladz Gang was a team of fifteen Bisharps that are always causing riots and problems down in Lower Castelia. I had run into them enough times to know that they were bad news. After all, they were the ones trying to abuse my sisters earlier that week. Djin looked at them too and growled, cracking his knuckles.

"What are those bastards doing here?" he asked, his voice low and dark, void of any kind, positive emotions. I shook my head and glared at them too.

"I don't know, Djin, but whatever they're here for, it ain't good!" Quickly I stood up and walked over to the large group. One of the Bisharps, a guy in his twenties, smirked at me and nodded.

"Hey, if it isn't the Skull Thief. I'm surprised to see you here, kid. Aren't you supposed to be taking care of your sissy little sisters?" I glared at him, but tried to keep my cool.

"They don't need my protection, Broken. I'm with Black Infinity now, so if you sent some of your guys down there to try and rape them for you, you're out of luck." Smirking, I walked away. The Bisharp frowned and sneered at me.

"Really? And if we got past the guards, what then? Because I'll tell you something, kid. Your little sister's pussy felt soooo good!"

Instantly I had Hades right in his face, my eyes staring angrily into his steel helmet. "What did you say?" I asked through clenched teeth. The Bisharp smiled and pushed me off of him.

"I said that I fucked you sister Lizza. Now what are you gonna do about it?" Roaring, I answered him with a punch right in his face. The Bisharp reeled back, blood dripping from his helmet, telling me I'd broken his nose. Gasping, I glared at him.

"You raped my sister, Broken. Now I'm gonna tear you apart!" The Bisharp grinned at me and wiped his face clean and lunged at me, but I was too fast and I caught him under his arm and twisted the armored appendage behind me. I didn't stop until I heard him cry out, and hear the satisfying sound of bones breaking. Sneering at him, I picked him up and threw him against the far wall, instantly fainting him. I glared at him and began to step forward, when I heard the sound of a pistol being cocked behind me.

"You son of a bitch!" one of Broken's followers said angrily, "I'm gonna make you pa—ugh!"

I turned around and saw to my surprise and satisfaction that the guy with the gun was now knocked out on the floor, with Djin glaring at him, his fists balled up.

"You try and hurt Skulls and you'll be sorry!" he shouted, and the other Black Infinity members nodded, standing up beside him. The Bisharps smirked at them and cracked their knuckles. I stared at the two groups and smirked.

What ended up happening next was so fast it was hard to take it in, but before I knew it both of the gangs were pummeling each other. Djin had a Bisharp in a head lock while punching his helmet in. Sly was kicking two Bisharps in the gut, spinning so fast you would have thought a purple/yellow tornado had landed in the Black Bolt. Dead-Eyes was sitting on another guy's back, slamming his head into the tiles again and again and again. And the rest of the gang was just taking them down. After only a few minutes, though, the Machoke bouncers came in and threw all of us out on the street. The Bisharps ran off in the chaos, and soon were running back to Lower Castelia.

"I'm heading out too, guys," I said, grabbing the Black Infinity motorcycle I'd been given as a new member. Djin nodded and smirked.

"Got it. Take care of the girls. They need it now more than ever dude!"

I nodded and revved up the Motorcycle and began heading down to the slum part of the city. While I was going, though, I couldn't help but notice that both Wicked and Saber had been gone that entire time. I felt myself wondering where they had been. Sighing, I focused back onto the road and drove up to the Roach Motel. As soon as I got to the room, I found Lizza. She was asleep, her face salty from crying so much. I just came close to her and held her close. I'd already lost Vanessa when our parents died. I wasn't going to lose Lizza too. So, I just laid there with Lizza in my arms until I fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Everything was dark. The Bisharp and the Weavile had blindfolded me before throwing me into what I assumed was the boot of a car, judging by how cramped it was. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself, wishing I'd worn something warmer.

There was a click, and the boot opened. I was blinded momentarily as one of my captors shone their light into my eyes. While I was blinded, I was picked up and dumped unceremoniously onto a chair, and bound with ropes. My vision came back, revealing a concrete parking lot, empty, and the mocking smiles of my captors.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" The Weavile sighed and shook his head.

"Isn't it obvious? We want to know what you were doing with Skulls. What are you trying to get from him, slut-bunny?" I stiffened, as if he'd slapped me in the face. Slut-bunny was the worst possible insult for a Lopunny, and judging by my captors faces, they knew that. Because of some Trainer's tendency to use Cute Charm to win battles, we'd become sluts in the faces of most Pokémon and Pokemorphs.

"We met at the mansion, and I didn't know he was going to be there tonight." The Bisharp scoffed and drew his blade again, swinging it around impatiently.

"You better not hurt that kid. He's gone through a bloody lot, you know."

"Well, no, I don't. I know his family must be poor, since he lives in a pretty cheap hotel." The Weavile snapped at the air, showing me his fangs.

"Yeah, his family's poor, well, what's left of it, that is." I frowned at the dark type, puzzled by his words.

"What do you mean, 'what's left of it'?"

"Oh hoh hoh, so he hasn't told you." The Weavile walked straight up to me, lowering his face to mine. He mockingly caressed my cheek with his claw, making me fidget. "Skulls' parents are dead."

What?

"What?" It couldn't be true.

"Oh, it's true, all right. Skulls is an orphan. Care to hear the story?" I was still frozen in shock, so the Weavile continued without a response. "Skulls' dad was a car mechanic and manufacturer, and a successful one too. He made a fair bit of money, and made cars for very wealthy people. Now, having that much success in a place like Lower Castelia's gonna get you in trouble. One day, the Bladz gang came knocking on their door, wanting two Ferrari Enzos that he was working on, for some rich bastard in Upper Castelia. He said no, of course. When Mr Grimm made you a car, you got it for sure. The Bladz were pissed off, and came back with some bombs. Blew the entire place to smithereens. Somehow, Skulls and his sisters survived and ran away, and began living on the streets. Skulls stole from gangs to get them into a Roach Motel. A few weeks later, the entire Bladz gang got killed mysteriously."

"But...they're still around." The Weavile slapped his forehead and glared at me.

"Don't be an idiot. These ones are second-gen, the New Bladz gang. All of the others were exterminated. Saber here used to be in the gang until they almost raped his sister." The Bisharp - Saber - nodded, eyes going steely.

"That's awful...but what does it have to do with me?" The Weavile gave me a mocking grin, shaking his head.

"Sweetie, your father was the one getting those cars made for him. If not for him, Skulls' parents wouldn't be dead. We can't get to the rich bastard, so you're the next closest one to hurt. Besides, we don't want you hurting Skulls anymore, since that's what you're doing, right? Slumming it with a streets guy so you can laugh about it the next day?" I stared at him in horror, the words barely processing.

"No! I'd never do something like that! Why would I?" The Weavile slapped me with a snarl.

"Because rich bitches like to fuck with the people who don't have millions of dollars." A trace of bitterness showed this had possibly happened to him before. "So, now, you get to die."

"_What?!_" Saber walked forward with a malicious grin, drawing his blade. He held it at my throat, just hard enough to draw blood. Tears began running down my face as I struggled to breath.

"Any last words, Princess?"

"How about, '_fuck you, Wicked_'?" Saber drew back, as did the Weavile, who I assumed was wicked. Skulls walked out of the shadows, followed by Djin, and two other Scrafty girls, one with red eyes, and the other with dead eyes.

"Whoa, how'd you find us?" Skulls rolled his eyes and walked over, flicking open a knife. He cut through my bonds, then tugged me up.

"Well, for starters, you disappeared at the club. Missed a good fight, too. Those bastard Bladz...they raped Lizza. Your fucking guards were worthless, or non-existent." Wicked stepped back, raising his hands defensively. "Secondly, Djin told me you'd gone after Lola. He picked up on it when he saw you guys leave straight after her. Now get out of here, and don't fucking touch her again." Wicked swore and walked a little bit away, coming back with a motorcycle. I had no idea how that had gotten there, since I'd been driven here in a car, but I could only assume that while I was in the boot of the car, they'd gone back and gotten them.

"She's only going to hurt you, Skulls. Remember that, before you end up like me." And with that cryptic comment, Wicked peeled out of the parking lot, followed by Saber, who gave Skulls a sympathetic look before leaving. I swayed, falling against Skulls as the shock hit me. I'd just been kidnapped and almost murdered.

"I'm so sorry, Skulls. I'm so sorry for everything."

"Sorry for what?" I looked up at him, tears spilling out of my eyes.

"About your sister, and about your parents. I'm so, so sorry, Skulls." I rested my head on his shoulder, crying softly, while he ran his hand over my hair.

"It's not your fault, Lola. It's the Bladz gangs fault, and they are going to fucking pay for everything they have put this family through." I looked up and saw a glint of steel in Skulls' eyes. He was serious.

"Leon, can we go home now?" I frowned, looking at the two girls. They seemed familiar...of course, the picture. These two were Skulls' sisters.

"Wait, Leon? That's your name?"

"Lizza, yes, we're going home. Lola, I used to be called Leon, but I prefer Skulls." I nodded, looking over at Lizza. She looked really scared to be in the parking lot. The other girl didn't seem to have any feelings about it at all, though.

"I should really get home now...oh, wait!" I ran over to the car that I had been dragged out of and grabbed my bag, pulling out the pills. I handed them to Skulls with a small smile, after taking one out of the bottle.

"These will help you. They...well, you can find out for yourself. Later!" I walked away smiling, knowing that Skulls was staring after me. Once I was out of eyesight, I swallowed the pill, feeling the change sweep over me with a rush of joy. Clutching my bag with my newly-formed paws, I bounced away into the night, towards home.

After about ten minutes, I was back at the mansion, clambering up into my room. The pill would wear off any minute now, which was a good thing, because I didn't want to have to see Father's face if he found an actual Lopunny in his daughter's bed instead of her. I slid under the covers, putting my bag onto my dressing table, and closed my eyes.

He was really something, that Skulls. Fighting through all of his misery and still managing to keep his sisters and him alive.

I fell asleep wondering how that had changed him, and what he had been when his parents were alive.


	8. Chapter 8

_10 years earlier…_

"_Leon! Hold up!"_

_I smirked as I raced across the streets and looked back as Lizza, Vanessa and Jasper, trying desperately to keep up with me. I laughed and shook my head._

"_Not a chance, Jasper!" I shouted back, adding a little more juice to my run. "Dad's coming home, and I plan to be the first one there to welcome him home!" Laughing again, I streaked around the nearby corner as Jasper sighed deeply. I just shrugged it off and kept on running. This was going to be the first time of seeing my dad in three years, the last time being when I had been four, and Lizza and Vanessa were just two. So, it was easy to see that I was eager to see him again._

_My dad, Travis Grimm, had left three years ago to fight in the Johtoen War. From day one on enemy soil, he had been in the middle of the action, bullets whizzing around him wildly and guns flaring. Once, he even had a grenade lobbed right at him. Luckily, he caught it and threw it right back, much to the surprise of the Tyrogue grunts who had tried to surprise him. It had been this incredible skill that he had as a fighter that made him promoted to captain of a small squad of elite soldiers, including Jasper's dad, Victor, and a tough Lucario sniper who Dad had nick-named 'Lucy'. The three of them had been in the harshest moments of the war, and if it hadn't been for their combined skills, the Johtoen base at Mt. Silver's peak wouldn't had fallen, and the war wouldn't had ended so soon. To everyone, my dad and his two friends were the greatest war heroes since Escalibre, the Escavalier knight from Medieval Ages. And today, they were coming home!_

_Smiling happily, I rounded another sharp corner and came skidding to a halt at the docks. The huge battleship, the _U.S.S. Castelia_, was already docked, and many soldiers were filing out. A wide grin on my face, I looked around wildly, eyes peeled for the shocking red hair and dark-tanned skin that defined my dad. Panting, Jasper came to a stop beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder for balance._

"_Ha…ha…ha…Geeze, Leon…you run…way, waaay…too fast…" I smirked at him and shook my head._

"_Either that, Jasper, or you're just seriously slow." At this, I received a Sucker Punch to my face from the small Zorua Pokemorph. Growling, he glared at me and smirked._

"_Say that again, Leon! I dare you!" I glared back at him and clocked him with a solid Uppercut. Instantly we were lashing out at each other, fists and feet lashing against our bodies as we exchanged blows._

"_Lizard-Freak!" he shouted angrily._

"_Faker-Fox!" I shouted back._

"_Well this is a sorry welcome home party, eh boys?"_

_Instantly Jasper and I froze, my fist raised and my other hand at his neck, and his hand at my neck. Simultaneously we turned our heads to the side, toward the chuckling voices to our side. Standing over the two of us, dressed in grey camo-style clothes, were three tall men. The first had waist-long black and red hair and bright yellow eyes, a Zoroark Pokemorph. The second had fairly long hair that was slicked back coolly, and had bright blue eyes, a Lucario Pokemorph. And standing between them, with a short red Mohawk and tanned skin, was my dad, Travis Grimm._

"_D-Dad!" Jasper and I shouted in unison, quickly scrambling out of our fray. The three adults chuckled, and Victor leaned forward and picked Jasper up happily._

"_My, look at you Jazzy," he said, smiling brightly. "You sure did grow up quickly!" Jasper just nodded and hugged his dad tightly._

"_Thanks, Dad! I'm so glad you're home!" Victor nodded and turned to my dad._

"_I think I'm gonna head home early. Jenny'll kill me if I don't show up soon, and I really don't feel like stayin' up late partyin', Travis." My dad nodded and smiled._

"_Hey, go on ahead, Victor. You deserve a little rest." The Zoroark nodded and quickly ran down the dock towards Lower Castelia. The Lucario nodded and picked up the large dufflebag at his feet._

"_I think I should head out, too. I'm looking forward to seeing my little girls again."_

"_Sure thing, Lucy! See you later!" The Lucario smiled and waved back._

"_Same to you, Grimm Reaper!" Smirking, he ran off. Up to Upper Castelia. I watched him go and then turned to my dad._

"_So that was Lucy?" My dad nodded, picking up his dufflebag and quickly walking down the docks, me walking right beside him._

"_Yeah, but he doesn't like that nickname too much. His real name is Lucian, though, and I just feel that's too formal of a name for a guy like him." I nodded and looked ahead to the end of the dock, where Lizza and Vanessa were waiting patiently._

"_So what was his nickname for you, then?" I asked, thinking about the name he used for my dad. He chuckled, fingering the steel dog-tags hanging from his neck._

"_Oh, that was a name he came up with after our first battle. Anyone who came close to me I would take down wildly and mercilessly, either with the AK-47 I was carrying, or with the basic Marine-class battle knife they issued to me when I enlisted. After he saw me fighting, he made the joke that I was probably gonna be the next God of Death. The nickname 'The Reaper' just kind of stuck after that." I smiled and looked over at the girls, who were now running up to him._

"_Daddy! Daddy!" they cried to him, wrapping their arms around his legs and smiling. He chuckled and picked the two of them up, one in each arm._

"_My my, these can't be my little girls! They're much too big now!" Lizza giggled and pushed Dad's chest mock-angrily._

"_Daddy, it is us!" My dad laughed and shook his head, setting them down again._

"_I know, I know! Hang on, I have gifts for you two!" The girls instantly smiled and looked at each other eagerly. Smiling, my dad reached into his duffle bag and produced two silk dresses, in the oriental style. Smiling, he handed the blue one to Lizza and the red one to Vanessa. "Those are yukata from the Johto Region. Or, they're kimonos…I can never get those two right!" Vanessa smiled and nodded._

"_Thanks Daddy! Come on Lizza! Let's show Mommy!" Nodding, the two little Scraggy girls ran down the street back to Lower Castelia. My dad chuckled, then looked to me._

"_Don't worry, I didn't forget you, Leon." Smiling, he reached into his bag and produced a large black knife with a black sheath. He looked over it for a few minutes before handing it to me. "This is my battle knife I used while I was in the war. It's saved my life more times than I can count, and when you're old enough to use it, I'm sure it will do the same to you." I smiled and fitted the sheath to my belt, instantly feeling the heavy weight on my side. Suddenly, I felt his hands slip something cool around my neck. Frowning, I looked to see his two shining dog-tags hanging from my neck._

"_Your dog-tags?! B-but, Dad—" I started, but he shook his head._

"_They are to remind you of me when I am gone, Leon. Now that I'm back, there's gonna be some changes to the old _Grimm's Garage_. We'll probably end up having more customers than ever before. We'll probably end up being successful, and end up better off than the rest of Lower Castelia. And when people see someone else succeeding while they're losing, they see it as an insult, and they will do whatever it takes to snuff out that ray of sunshine. When that happens, I want you to take care of the family if I or your mother can't. And if someone challenges or hurts our family, and I'm not around, I want you to defend it. Remember, anything someone else starts, you can finish. But, if you need the strength to push through, you'll have these to remind you of me, and hopefully they'll be enough to help you push through every obstacle that is thrown in your way."_

_I slowly nodded, and Dad smiled. "Good. Now, let's go home. Maybe Mom's making spaghetti!"_

_Smiling, we departed into the night._

Present day…

I smiled as I slid my fingers over the dog-tags that had once been my dad's. Then, sighing, I slipped the chain over my neck for the first time in five years and slipped the battle knife onto my belt. It was time for work.

It had been a week since Broken had raped Lizza, and though she was shaky, she was far from being as bad as Vanessa was now. Still, I wasn't going to let that bastard off the hook so quickly. Which was why I was standing in Djin's bathroom, dressed in new, plain black leather clothes. Not a single piece of skin was showing except for my head, which was soon going to be hidden under an unmarked biker's helmet. Nodding, I slid the helmet on and walked out.

Lizza, Vanessa and Sly looked over at me, smiling, Sly giving me a thumbs up. I nodded and walked over to Saber and SmogBomb who were guarding the front door to Djin's apartment.

"You guys gonna be good here tonight?" I asked, frowning. Saber nodded and smiled confidently.

"Don't worry Skulls. The entire gang has this place guarded. Even if those Bladz freaks think to come by here for your sisters, they're gonna be met with fourteen sub-machine guns. Trust me, your sisters are safe here."

I nodded and patted him on the shoulder, then walked out the front door, down the stairs, and out into the street, where Djin and two black motorcycles were waiting. Like me, he was wearing black leather all over and had a black helmet on his head, keeping his identity secret. Nodding, he hopped onto the bike and looked at my waist.

"The knife? Why aren't you carrying Hades?" I shook my head.

"The shells are unique, used only by me. If the police find them, which they would, they would know it was me. The knife, there's less chance they'll know it was me." Djin nodded and turned on his bike. I quickly sat down on the bike beside him. Sighing, I looked at him again. "You know, you don't have to come along, Djin." The Zoroark stopped and pulled his helmet off, then looked at me. And, for the first time in a long time, I saw a deadly seriousness unlike anything else he's ever felt.

"Of course I have to come. In case you forgot, those bastards killed my mom and dad on that day five years ago, too. They tore both our lives apart, and now we're gonna make them pay." Scowling, he pulled the helmet back on and revved the bike up. I nodded and soon we were driving off into the darkness.

It was time for revenge.


	9. Chapter 9

It was midnight in Lower Castelia's long, winding streets. The large full moon was shining coolly down the alleys, illuminating all to the nocturnal world. The paved roads and walks were chillingly quiet, with only the sounds of Purrloin and Lillipup, busily working their ways through trash heaps, breaking through the stillness of the night. At this time, when barely anyone about, one would fail to say that they noticed the two pure black motorcycles come to a slow stop just a block before their targets. The masked figures aboard the bikes quickly hopped off their machines and slipped into the shadows, quickly becoming one with the night.

They wove their way past the trash cans and dumpsters, sliding over rooftops with silence that would impress even a Murkrow, the king of midnight stealth. After a few minutes of maneuvering the Pokemorph-made landscape of Lower Castelia, the two masked men finally made their way to their target; a broken down building with cracked windows and a large sign hanging from the roof, barely lit. What could be read at this time of night could be read as 'Gim Rage', but the two men knew exactly what the building's name really was. Nodding to each other, they slipped back into the shadows and moved silently towards the building.

The first two Bisharp were standing guard outside the hideout's main doors. One, with a large cracked helmet, held a cigarette to his lips and took a long drag off of it while his partner flipped through a porn magazine.

"Heh heh heh, hello cutie!" the porn-reading Bisharp said, frantically flipping through the magazine. The other sighed and shook his head.

"Snapped, stop looking at that stuff. If you want to have sexual fun, why don't you go out and bang a real, live girl?" Snapped shook his head and shuddered.

"No thanks, Torn. I get too nervous around the ladies. You'd do better at quittin' smokin' that I would at finally fucking one of those bitches!" Torn nodded and puffed away on his cigarette. Suddenly, he felt a cold chill run down his spine, and he looked about worriedly.

"Was that you, Snapped? Dammit, you know I hate it when you try and sneak up on me, you bastard!" His friend looked up from his magazine and into the dark alley and shook his head slowly.

"Naw, it wasn't me," he promptly responded before diving back into his 'liturature'.

"Well if it wasn't you then wh—" Snapped looked up from his magazine again, frowning as Torn left the rest of his sentence hanging in the wind. Shaking his head, he looked over to where his friend had been standing and stood up slowly.

"What was that Torn? I couldn't hear y—" He stopped as he felt a cold, sharp blade slash across his exposed neck. Sputtering, he fell forward onto his face, his blood quickly slipping out of his torn neck and sliding across the black ground, mixing with Torn's. Behind him, he could barely hear the doors to the hideout silently slide open and two figures slip in quietly. Then, his eyes shut one last time.

The next Bisharps were five buddies, huddled around an oil drum that had been flipped over for a table. They were playing a little poker, something simple to slip through the night peacefully. One, who had a black fedora with a blood-red ribbon around its width smirked over the top of his cards and pushed all of his pieces into the center.

"I'm going all in, motherfuckers!" The others groaned, throwing their cards down on the oil drum, and one getting up, fuming, then sitting down and glaring at the first.

"Again? Again, Jagged?! Fifteen rounds, and you've won every time!" Jagged smirked and leaned back in his seat, tipping his fedora down over his eyes.

"I guess I'm just really lucky, Split!" He laughed and crossed his arms behind his head, then suddenly fell back as his seat lost balance. The other Bisharps chuckled at Jagged's action, and even Split cracked a small smile at his friend's fault.

"So much for being lucky, eh Jagged?" he asked, smirking.

Jagged didn't answer.

Split smirked and stood up, walking over to his friend. "What's the matter, Jagged? Can't take the humilitation?"

Again, Jagged didn't answer.

Split frowned and leaned forward. "H-hey buddy," he said softly, nudging his friend's shoulder, "it was just a joke…" Frowning, he pushed harder, turning Jagged over. Split gasped as he saw Jagged's face sliced in thrice, with one large stab through the forehead. Gagging, he stepped back, looking at his bloodied hands.

"What the fuck…?" he asked, looking back to the others, and felt his eyes widen in horror. Like Jagged, they were terribly mutilated, long jagged cuts and stabs covering their bodies. Trembling slightly, Split slowly stepped back, hand reaching slowly to his blade. Before it could reach it, though, it suddenly shook wildly as a long knife erupted through Split's head. Silently moaning, the Bisharp fell forward amongst his allies, and the two shadowy figures moved onward.

Not too far from the poker table was the garage part of the gang's hideout. Currently, five other Bisharp gang members were working away at their motorcycles. A tall one, spray can in hand, was busy spraying a decal of a nude devil-girl onto his bike. Smirking, he turned to one of his friends and turned the bike towards him.

"What do you think, Severed?" Speared turned to bike and looked over the job, then scowled to the taller Bisharp.

"Dude, that's _my_ decal you're using there! I'm Severed Devil, and anything devil related goes on my bikes, not yours!" The taller Bisharp held his hands up in defense and cracked a smile.

"Sorry, no need to be such a dick about it, Severed."

"Severed, Hacked, would you stop it already?" called one of the other Bisharp from across the garage, blowtorch in hand. "We've heard nothing but arguments coming from the two of you since Broken told you that you could only watch him fuck Skulls' little sister, and not take the other one out for a little joy ride. Frankly, I'm ticked off from it, okay? If you don't shut up right now, I'm gonna kill myself, then you!"

The two Bisharps glared at each other and nodded. "Sorry Chip," Hacked muttered, pulling his welder's helmet lower over his face. Chip huffed and turned back to the large car he was working on.

"You guys better be sorry, especially if I get over th—"

"Chip?" Severed asked softly, looking over towards the other Bisharp, then promptly gagging. Chip and the other two Bisharp he had been working with were all run through with pipes and mounted on the wall. Chip's face was warped into a weird, horrified look, one that Severed had never seen before.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" Hacked asked loudly, pulling a wrench from his belt. Instantly he stopped cold as a cool metal blade passed through his chest, spilling his guts onto the pavement below. Blood bubbled up this throat as he looked to Severed. Face contorted in pain, he grabbed the other Bisharp's jacket and mouthed 'run', before collapsing on the ground. Severed couldn't run, though, seeing as he had just been decapitated, his head rolling over towards Chip's hanging body. The two shadowy men looked at the carnage for a minute or two longer, and then moved on for the finale.

At the back of the hideout was a large room with a desk in it. Guarding that room were two Bisharp guards, nerves of steel. Within that room was the head of the entire Bladz Gang, Broken. That room was his workplace, the place he did important activities such as maintaining the gang's bills, keeping files on the gang's enemies and their movements, and getting serviced by lovely ladies. Sadly for him, tonight was paperwork night, so no ravishing beauty for him to, well, ravish. He sighed at his table and pushed the last of the paper work into a folder. Yawning, he stood up and knocked on the door.

"Rust, Corrode, I'm gonna catch some Z's in here for a while. Try not to wake me up, got it?"

"Got it, boss," Rust said through the doorway, "we'll try let you sl—augh!"

Instantly Broken tensed up as both Rust and Corrode's bodies hit the wall hard and then slumped to the ground. Outside, silent footsteps echoed through the hallway, up to the door. Broken backed away slowly, his hand reaching for his knife, only to realize last minute that he'd asked Shattered to clean it for him that night, and hadn't gotten it back yet. Silently he swore, then felt his heart stop as the door handle slowly turned. The door opened at a snail's pace, revealing a tall, helmeted man, wearing all black. In his hand was a long hunting or battle-style knife, already a deep crimson from the blood of many bodies. Panicking, he pushed himself up against the wall and stared at the attacker in fear.

"L-listen, I-I don't know wh-what you want, but whatever i-it is, I can give it!" The man stopped, his knife now set beside Broken's exposed neck.

"Anything?" he asked, sounding convinced. Broken nodded wildly, smiling. The smile fell, though, as the knife sliced across his neck, and his life began to slip away. Just before the darkness overtook him, he saw the shadow man lean down to him, take off his helmet, and reveal a face he recognized all too well.

"I want my father back, you son of a bitch!" Skulls Grimm said, glaring coldly at the dying gang leader. Broken gasped in surprise, and then went limp. Skulls glared again, then turned to Djin, who had just taken his helmet off as well. Nodding, they both slipped out the back.

And if anyone had seen them, all they would have seen would be a Scrafty and Zoroark running through the alleys with the rest of the street Pokemon.

* * *

We finally made it back to Djin's place around one in the morning. We left the bikes at the block before the Bladz' hangout because…well, have you ever tried to drive a motorcycle when you've just lost about a foot and a half of height? The gang was slightly surprised to see us in Pokemon form, but once we turned back into our Pokemorph forms and put on our everyday clothes, we explained the whole pill thing. Wicked grinned and nodded.

"Impressive, Skulls. Wherever did you get this wonderpills, though?" I smirked at him and slipped the pill bottle into my pocket.

"From the same girl you tried to murder a week ago, Wicked. Lola Denovan." Wicked scowled but nodded, leaning back. Sly shook his head at the gang leader and turned to me.

"How'd you know it would work, Skulls?" I sighed and looked over a Lizza.

"The day after Lizza was…well, you know…she saw the pill bottle and thought they were my Ritalin pills. She thought that because they helped me out in times of crisis, they would help her out too. When I walked in on her, I found a female Scrafty standing in my sister's clothes. After she explained it to me, I was able to put two and two together and find out the pills usage. Came in handy tonight, too. No one would suspect a Scrafty and Zoroark had killed the entire Bladz gang." Wicked nodded, then frowned slightly.

"Yeah, about that Skulls…I want to ask you something. Say the police do find out it was you that killed the gang, and you get thrown in jail. Would massacring the Bladz gang still have been worth it?"

I paused. I had wanted to do it because of everything they'd ever done to my family, to me and my sisters, to even all of Castelia. But, would my family be better off because of it? I looked over at Lizza and Vanessa, and found myself smiling, because for the first time in five years, Vanessa was smiling. It was in her sleep, and it was only a half smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. Smirking, I turned back to Wicked and nodded.

"Hell yes."


	10. Chapter 10

Two days after being kidnapped by Wicked and Saber, I found out the entire Bladz gang had been murdered again.

I had been walking along the hallway, outside Father's office, when I had heard Father shouting loudly.

"What do you mean, all slaughtered?!" I had stopped, pressing my ear to the door, and tried to breathe quietly. Father took a deep breath and let out a low growl.

"I didn't even know those idiots had reformed. The Bladz gang...I've had enough run-ins with those guys to last a lifetime. Do you know who killed them?" There was another pause, and a glass clinking sound, before Father started talking again.

"Okay. I have to go now; I need to write up some paperwork for a new development in town. I'll talk to you later." Father sighed, followed by a sound like someone sitting down on a large office chair.

"I know you're out there, Lola. Aura sensors, remember?" I cursed under my breath and opened the door with a sheepish smile.

"Hi, Father. I heard you shouting and wondered what was going on." Father sighed, taking a drink from the glass in his hand. It was whiskey, which worried me - Father rarely drank anything but wine, and only went for whiskey if he was really stressed.

"I assume you heard everything?"

"Only a little bit. The Bladz gang got massacred?" Father sighed and had another swallow of whiskey.

"Yes, they did. Stabbed, the lot of them. They also found Zoroark and Scrafty footsteps at the scene, so any dark type Trainer who lives in the area with those Pokémon is currently being questioned." I had stopped listening at the mention of Scrafty.

"I've got to go, Dad, I organized a homework session with Lavender and Gabrielle, so I should rush over. I'll see you once I'm done!" Father nodded, taking another sip of whiskey.

"If you're not back by at least nine, I'll send the Sawks over. That's five hours. Use them wisely."

"I will, Father." I walked out, running back to my room and grabbing my phone. I quickly dialled Lavender's number and waited anxiously for her to pick up.

"Lavender Clemonte speaking. If this is a prank call, just look up my name and tell me how stupid that idea was later." I grinned at her usual greeting, but then my situation erased the grin.

"Lavender, I need you to cover for me. I'm gonna sneak out, and I told Father that I was going to your house to do homework. If he calls, tell him I'm there, and that I have to focus on the science assignment, so I don't want to talk to him. Please?"

"Alright, girl. Where are you actually headed, then?" I sighed, and looked down, saying something I'd never thought I would in my life:

"I'm going down to Lower Castelia."

It took me half an hour to get to Skulls' hotel, after making my way from my mansion to Lower Castelia, dodging the Ninetales girls on the corner cat-calling at every passing guy and the various dark type boys who wolf-whistled at me as I passed, even though I was just wearing jeans and a thick brown sweater. Finally, I made it to the run down Roach Motel that Skulls called his home. It was disgusting, with filth everywhere, and questionable structural integrity. I walked in, grimacing a little as the smell of pee, urine and vomit hit my nose, and nodded to the person at the desk. He looked over me, nodding approvingly.

"Hey there, hotty. You lookin' for somethin'?" I looked at him a little closer, noticing the small purple flames surrounding him, and the large purple mohawk he proudly showed off. He was a Chandelure Pokemorph, and thus probably not the greatest lobby man for a Lower Castelia hotel, since most Lower Castelians were dark types.

"I'm looking for Skulls Grimm's apartment, sir." His expression changed from checking me out to wishful, and he slid back noticeably in his chair. With a sigh, the desk guy pressed a button and leaned to the microphone that was screwed to the desk.

"Can Mr Grimm please come down to the lobby, he's got a visitor." I could hear the announcement from a speaker behind me, which meant I also got to hear the unpleasant crackling of it. I tried not to wince as he released the button, causing another static crackle shoot straight into my sensitive eardrums. The guy waved at a chair, indicating for me to sit down. I did, almost yelping as a sharp bit of metal poked into my ass, and shifted my weight to avoid stabbing myself on a piece of furniture.

"Hey, Hank, you called me down?" My head jerked up at Skulls' voice, and I stood, brushing off the thin layer of grime from the chair that had spread onto my jeans. The desk guy, Hank, pointed at me.

"She wants to see you. Your latest fling?" Skulls snorted, flicking up the collar of his leather jacket.

"You know I don't do flings, Hank. Anyway, talk to you later." He nodded and pulled out a cell phone, opening a game of some sort. Skulls looked over at me and grinned, brushing back his mohawk.

"Hey, bunny. What brings you to the slums of this fine city?" I rolled my eyes, feeling my cheeks heat up a little.

"I needed to talk to you, but I've only got until nine. Can I come up to your apartment?" Skulls blinked, but quickly recovered.

"Uh, sure thing. Just follow me." I nodded, standing up and accepting the hand Skulls offered. He headed to the stairs - there wasn't an elevator in the motel - quickly getting to his apartment. Skulls fished out the key and opened the door with a click, waving me inside.

"Welcome to my very humble home." I stepped inside, and bit back a gasp.

The place was awful. It was cramped and unclean, and I swore I saw a mouse scurry back into its hole as I walked in. There were two rooms, one with three beds, and the other having the kitchen, lounge room and dining room all shoved in together. Lizza and Skulls' other sister sat on the couch, eating tinned spaghetti straight from the can. The one I didn't know looked up and froze, spaghetti slipping off her fork back into the can.

"Vanessa, this is Lola. Lola Denovan. Lizza, you've already met her." Lizza nodded, slurping up a strand of spaghetti, while Vanessa nodded stiffly. Skulls raised an eyebrow at her and walked over to the 'kitchen', grabbing down a mug.

"Do you want anything? Tea, coffee, beer, water?"

"White tea, thanks. Listen, can we talk in...in private?" Skulls whirled around, almost spilling water out of the rusty kettle he was putting on the stove, coughing a little.

"What...what do you mean by that? Anything you have to tell me, my sisters can hear as well!" Vanessa and Lizza both spun around on the couch, peering over the back of it.

"Oh really? What about some news I heard about a certain gang?" Skulls paled, his hand shaking as he spooned instant coffee into his mug.

"O-okay, they don't need to hear that. We'll go into the bedroom, then, once the-" A high pitched whistle interrupted him. Skulls grabbed the kettle, switching off the stove and pouring hot water into the mugs. He added a dash of milk to both and handed me my tea. I took a sip, wincing a little as the chlorine taste of the water hit me, but managed to swallow it. Skulls took a swallow of his coffee and shuddered.

"Eugh, I hate the taste of chlorine. Anyway, into the bedroom?" Vanessa flinched and stood up, hands clenching into fists.

"Oh, so this is who she is. Your latest sex toy, a slut-bunny. You fucking dick." Despite the anger that showed in her eyes, her stance and voice was still robotically calm. Skulls swallowed and went to answer, but I held up my hand to silence him. I stepped in front of Vanessa, who glared at me.

"Vanessa, I'm not a slut. I don't do things like that. I'm here because your brother helped me, and I needed to warn him about something." Vanessa raised an eyebrow, but went back to the couch with a huff. Skulls gave me a grin and ushered me into the bedroom. I sat down awkwardly on one of the beds, probably Lizza's, judging by the clothes and the pictures of her stuck onto the wall. Skulls sat on his own bed, taking another drink of coffee.

"Okay, so what did you want to warn me about?" I took a sip of the noxious tea, grimacing a little as it went down, and started talking.

"You and Djin killed the entire Bladz gang. I heard about it from Father, and I just want to say, how could you be so stupid? The police will track you down by matching the stab wounds to your knife, and then you're dead! What will Vanessa and Lizza do?" By this point, I was running out of breath, and Skulls wasn't looking happy. While I took a breath, he put his hand over my mouth to shut me up, and leaned in close with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Okay, Lola, listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once. The Bladz gang deserved what they got. They raped Lizza, and they killed my parents and almost killed me. They deserved to _die._ And the police won't catch me. The only evidence they have are stabs wounds to a knife I got melted down, footprints to Pokémon I don't own, and a heap of dead bodies. I'm perfectly safe, Lola." I frowned at him, peeling off his hand.

"But...aren't you scared?" Skulls shook his head, smiling crookedly.

"When you're around danger as much as me, fear doesn't affect you as much. Besides, there's no evidence to point to me." I sighed, seeing his logic.

"Okay then, I'll be leaving now. I should actually go to my friend's place so I can do that assignment." Skulls nodded and opened the door for me, grinning at me. I placed the mug I'd emptied on the kitchen sink, smiling at Lizza who waved at me.

"See you three around, I guess." Everyone murmured goodbyes as I went out the door, whistling a cheery tune.

"So, how was slumming it, Denovan?" I poked my tongue out at Lavender, who merely grinned more.

"I wasn't slumming it, I was meeting up with a friend. And it was nice, thank you very much." Lavender raised her eyebrows, finishing off her sketch of a Patrat's internal organs, and rolling up the paper.

"Sure, sure, Denovan. It's about eight o'clock, you should start heading back. Don't want Daddy being angry with you."

"It's not my fault Father's so annoying, but you're right. I should be going. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Lavender nodded, smiling mysteriously.

"Ciao, Denovan." I walked out, saying goodbye to Lavender's mother on the way. I walked down the street, taking the ten minute path I usually took to get to Lavender's house from mine. After a while of mindlessly walking, I was back home, striding up the stone driveway and entering without knocking.

"I trust you had a productive afternoon, Lola?" Father was sitting in the reception room, newspaper in hand, doing the crossword. I smiled at him, ignoring that he hadn't even greeted me properly, and nodded.

"I'm going to my room. Lavender's mother cooked me dinner, so I don't need any food tonight. Goodnight, Father." He nodded, writing down a word, and I went upstairs, skipping every second step like I usually did. I shed my clothes and grabbed my pyjamas, slipping into them and jumping into bed, snagging my latest book as I did. I opened at the bookmark and started reading, but I couldn't focus. I kept thinking about Skulls, and how angry he had looked when he was talking about the Bladz gang.

I felt so sorry for him, for all that he had gone through. If I could, I was going to help him find some semblance of peace in his shattered world.

But for now, all I could do was sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

I sighed to myself as I walked down the road to Black Infinity's hang out. It had been nice seeing Lola again, although I have to admit it was quite the surprise. And I was glad that she was concerned for my safety. But like I told her, I was absolutely safe. There was nothing to worry about. All the evidence that pointed to me being the killer was currently melted down and reshaped into some new adjustable parts for my Hades Assassin 666. As far as I could tell, there was no chance of me getting caught by the cops.

Quickly I rounded the corner into an alley way and knocked on the furthest door. Sly opened the door and smirked at me.

"'Bout time you showed up, Skulls," Sly said, pulling me in through the door, "Wicked has a big job for you, me, and Djin. We were afraid that you weren't gonna show up." I smirked at him and plopped down on the big leather sofa nearby.

"Come on, Sly, you know I wouldn't pass up on something like this. I just had some work that needed to get finished up before I left."

"Did that work include a certain slut bunny, Skulls?" Wicked's chilling voice asked as he walked up behind me, cleaning his nails with a switchblade. I shuddered as he said the nickname and scowled coldly at him.

"Her name is Lola, Wicked! And yeah, I talked with her. She was worried about my wellbeing, seeing as I had just wiped out an entire gang only a few nights ago. She's a smart girl, she found out about it before I even told her. But I gotta ask, how'd you know?" Wicked shook his head and flung the switchblade across the room, sinking it down to the handle into the wall.

"Bonez and Tyrel were stopping by so they could hold posts as guards for the night. Sent me a message about Lola showing up at your motel." I nodded and leaned back.

"Well, glad Bonez and Tyrel are watching the girls tonight. Still, I don't want you spying in on my personal life, Wicked. I don't look into yours, although there are a lot of things about you that I'd like to question. Now, with that settled, can we get on with the mission?"

"Yeah Wicked!" Djin said, sauntering into the room, a lit cigarette hanging from his lip, "What we gotta do today, dude?" Wicked smiled nodded to each of us. He then reached into his pocket and produced a small, tan bag with a blue drawstring. Slowly he opened the bag and held it over the table in front of us. Out poured a small mound of pink dust that tickled my nose with a kind of sulfuric smell. Instantly my eyes widened and I leaned away from the table.

"Do you know what this is, boys?" Wicked asked, pointing at the dust. No one answered, but we all kind of knew what it was. Wicked continued on. "This is Sulfuric Cometricide, also known as Star Dust. It is a very potent drug used in hallucinogens, and to the right buyer, it can sell for up to ten-thousand pokedollars a pound." Our eyes widened even further over the amount. "I have a friend in Nimbasa City who's gonna make it into a drug more addictive than cocaine, and sell it at Black City's underground market. What our gang has to do is get our part, the Star Dust base, all ten-thousand pounds of it, to Nimbasa. Now, this is gonna be tricky, considering the fact that this is basically an illegal drug run. So, we're gonna need the best defenses possible. Which brings me to your guys' mission," he said finally, looking between the three of us. "Skulls, your employer, Jefferson Chester, is willing to sell us some new weapons that he recently purchased. You need to get down there, pay for the weapons, and make it out of there without causing too big a scene. Understood?" We all nodded and stood up.

"No problem, Wicked," I said, jumping over the sofa and out the door, "we'll get you the guns no problem." Sly and Djin nodded and quickly followed me out into the street.

It didn't take very long to get to the Radio Beats store Mr. Chester ran. A few turns here, a little jay-walking there, and soon we were at the big music store and walking through the front door. The bell rang twice, and Mr. Chester turned around, beaming at us.

"Ah, Skulls, Djin, Sly! How may I help the three of you out?" I smiled at Mr. Chester and looked around the store quickly. Luckily for us, no one was there except for Lillith, my Jigglypuff Pokemorph co-worker. Sighing, I turned back to Mr. Chester.

"We're here about some weapons you may have, Chess." Mr. Chester's eyes seemed to dullen as I murmured to him his old gang name. Nodding, he walked over to the counter and motioned for Lillith to go to the back room. Sighing, he rummaged under the counter for a moment or two.

"I see this is serious, then, if you have to call me by my old name. I really wish Wicked would just let me get rid of that part of my life. The Fangz Gang has been dissolved for ten years, there's no reason to keep pulling my past onto me." Mr. Chester sighed again and something from behind the counter clicked. Smiling, he stooped down and pulled out a long sniper rifle, a large and heavy assault rifle, and a sleek and shiny handgun. He smirked to himself as he patted the sniper on the side. "I got these sent in to me from a buddy in Canalave City, Sinnoh," he said, smirking at us. "There are fourteen of the ZENO H-15 handguns, seven of the BARRAGE W-34 sniper rifles, and eight of the ECHO T-99 assault rifles. All of them are here for you, that is," he added, winking, "if you can pay for it!"

"You mean if someone doesn't bid higher for it, Chess!"

Everyone in the store stopped cold in their tracks and conversations. Even Lillith in the back was as silent as death. I gulped to myself as I slowly turned around to the voice, praying that it wasn't who I thought it was. Sure enough though, there he was; Shadow Evoran, the Umbreon Pokemorph Leader of the Evos. Beside him were his brothers Volten and Childer, a Jolteon and Glaceon. Shadow and his seven brothers made up the Evos Gang, a bunch of Eeveelution thugs who hailed from Upper Castelia. They were amongst the baddest of the bad, possibly even worse than the Bladz Gang from time to time. And the fact that they were here, eyeing the large guns on the counter like a Mightena would look at a Mareep was bad news for us. Glaring, I stepped forward and placed my hand on Hades' handle.

"Get outta here, Shadow. We were here first, so we get say in the weapons; you don't." The Umbreon cocked an eyebrow and stepped forward.

"Really Skulls? Because I must warn you, that if you do not give me those guns, I'll have my brothers Forrest and Flint torture your sisters until you give." I stared coldly back at Shadow and pulled Hades from my belt.

"Lizza and Vanessa are fine. In fact, I doubt your brothers even got through the front doors. Tyrel is a dead shot when it comes to shooting down motherfuckers." Shadow glared back and stepped back, making me smirk.

"Flint and Forrest are gonna be fine, I know. But if you've got guards, then I doubt I'll be able to use your sisters as bait against you, Skulls." I nodded and turned away. But he wasn't finished yet. "Perhaps I can try using the Lopunny girl, then."

I stopped in my tracks and spun around, staring at Shadow. "How do you know about her?" Shadow chuckled and started walking closer to me.

"How do I know her? Why, Lola Denovan and I used to date! I never got to screw her though, a shame really. How is the slut bunny, these days? Is she as tight as I hoped—"

Not another word left his mouth as Hades slammed into his jaw, shattering the bone and sending him reeling backwards, back to his brothers. Moaning, he looked up to me, blood running out of his mouth, and I raised Hades to his face.

"Get. Out!" I said through clenched teeth, barely holding back the waves of anger inside me that were telling me to shoot him where he was standing. The Umbreon spat a bit of blood at me and glared, but quickly ran out the doors, followed by his brothers.

"You made a big mistake, Skulls!" he shouted back to me, "You don't even know Lola! You're just asking for a load of trouble, you bastard! And I promise that once her dad is done with you, I'm gonna put a bullet in your head!" I just stared straight after him until he disappeared into the street. Glaring, I turned back to Mr. Chester and slipped Hades back into its holster.

"How much for the guns?"

* * *

The next day, I called Wicked and told him to put up some guards while I was out in the city. After he agreed to send SmogBomb and Dead-Eyes over as soon as possible, I hung up the phone, patted Lizza and Vanessa on the back, and ran out to my motorcycle.

Shadow had been right. I don't know Lola, or anything about her past. And yet she knew practically everything about mine. So I was going to find out about her.

Without another thought, I revved up the engine and headed up to Upper Castelia, and the Denovan Plaza.


End file.
